Does Throne: Kingdom at War Cut the Mustard?

Massively multiplayer online (MMO) games are becoming more and more the ‘in’ thing when it comes to gaming. The success of companies like Plarium, who have been able to bring forward games to the market that have struck the right balance between being rewarding for solo play but also engaging for collaborative play, is testament to this. Vikings: War of Clans is a decent example of this balance, but what about Plarium’s game, Throne: Kingdom at War?

Keeping It Personal

If you are familiar with the Plarium interface, then Throne: Kingdom at War is going to have a nice sense of familiarity to it. However, even if you haven’t used it before, this interface is easy to get to grips with, allowing for multiple actions at once, and simple for picking and deploying individual tasks as well. This is especially helpful when looking at which troops you wish to send to collect resources or when you want to help those in your order to build new buildings.

What is key, though, in the MMO world, is the need to keep busy. Sure, some tasks are going to take longer and, when constructing and upgrading, you won’t always immediately know if you have made the right decision but what all of this does encourage is the development of strategy. When games are unable to offer a challenge when it comes to decisions being made, then you know that not enough thought has gone into the game design. However, the fact that Throne: Kingdom at War has fan pages dedicated to different strategies shows that the routes to success differ and allow players that creative freedom to pick a route that suits their personal preferences.

Power or Prudence?

With social opportunities a huge part of gaming with MMOs, the ability to join an order and have a social relationship with other players is a massive draw. However, true gamers will enjoy the opportunity to start up their own order or look to move up through the ranks to join ever more powerful orders to further their power.

Joining an order in the first place is a great way of helping to get you going in the game and allows players the opportunity to gain an insight into different games whilst offering the potential chance for retaliation when you are (inevitably) attacked.

This inevitability of attack is the source of some frustration with this game, with some players suggesting that they don’t enjoy the fact that they can build up resources and troops only to see them decimated by a far more powerful opponent. Despite these claims, the reality is that fighting other players and working out when to attack and how to defend make Throne: Kingdom at War an enjoyable way to spend time and keep your thumbs occupied! Those looking purely to build and create should be looking at games that allow this to take place without the threat of being beaten. For those who enjoy the thrill of challenging yourself to get stronger and risk defeat but also have the chance to invest time and effort in a complex battle plan, then Throne: Kingdom at War is a winning choice of game.

Ian Cullen is the founder of scifipulse.net and has been a fan of science fiction and fantasy from birth.
In the past few years he has written for 'Star Trek' Magazine as well as interviewed numerous comics writers, television producers and actors for the SFP-NOW podcast at: www.scifipulseradio.com
When he is not writing for scifipulse.net Ian enjoys playing his guitar, studying music, watching movies and reading his comics.
Ian is both the founder and owner of scifipulse.net
You can contact ian at: [email protected]